Dear Kalimpong, I heart you

I absolutely love hill stations and therefore, whenever I get an opportunity, I escape to the beautiful Darjiling or Sikkim. However, this summer, I wanted to explore a hill station that is remote, quaint and less populated. So, my pick was Kalimpong, which is located a few kilometers away from Darjiling.

 View of Kalimpong from the balcony of my hotel room

So, we took a train from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri Station. After reaching the station, we hired a private car to Kalimpong. It took around 3 hours to reach our destination. The first thing that attracted me in Kalimpong is the wide range of flowers found there, especially orchids.

Orchids of various colors stole my heart and awakened the poet in me

There were orchids of various colors and shapes in Kalimpong. There was a garden in the hotel where we stayed and the various flowers blooming there mesmerized me completely. In our 3 days stay, wherever I went, one thing was common in every nook and corner of Kalimpong and that is the large variety of orchids.

  The beautiful colors in Kalimpong can cheer anyone up!

The temperate climate, the cool winds of the mountain, the tranquility and the beauty of the place made me fall in love with Kalimpong instantly. The native people staying there, known as Lepchas are extremely soft spoken and polite. They spend most of their time gardening, cleaning and listening music.

I got to know from the manager of my hotel that Kalimpong is famous for its colonial architecture. The large houses of Kalimpong were all built during the British era. I got fascinated and visited the Morgan house which is a classic example of colonial architecture in Kalimpong. The Morgan House is majestic and has a beautiful sprawling garden. Now, the place is converted into a guest house and run by the department of West Bengal Tourism.

 The Morgan House had an old world charm

Just opposite to the Morgan House, is the magnificent Army Golf Course. The spectacular golf course can be seen from the WaterShed View Point.

 It was cloudy when we reached the Watershed View Point

On reaching the WaterShed View Point, I was speechless for a few seconds. The wind ruffling my hair and the tranquility of the place filled me with reverence. I kept gazing at the place, sipping a hot cup of tea. I must mention that WaterShed View Point serves one of the best tea I ever had.

 Wish I could gaze at this place for 2 weeks, take inspiration by bits and write an entire book!

We could see many people playing golf at a distance. As I was basking in the glory of Nature, I thought that if only I would be staying for 2 weeks in this place, I could have completed writing an entire book. Yes, the place was not only beautiful, but also very inspiring.

 Ticket to fulfill a dream

Next, we headed to the Kalimpong Paragliding Society to fulfill one of my dreams: the dream to fly. They charged around 3000 INR for a15 minute flight. It is expensive, but extremely safe. A trained pilot accompanied me who advised me to relax. He told me that it is just like sitting in a car where the pilot will control the paraglider. I just have to enjoy my flight.

Just before taking off

I felt a little jittery before we were about to take off, but then I decided to let go off my fear. I closed my eyes and after a minute, when I opened my eyes, voila! I was flying in the sky. That was one of the most incredible moments of my life. I felt thrilled, happy, excited, emotional and speechless, all at the same time.

I became one with the wind and the sky and the next ten minutes of my life was like doing meditation. I was not thinking of anything but was just living every second of my life. I could feel every heartbeat of mine and once again, I fell in love with life.

I felt like a bird, I felt so alive and liberated.

After landing down, we headed to Deolo Hill, which is a 8-acre lush green parkland with beautiful flower gardens and breathtaking views of Durpin Hill and Kanchenjunga. Deolo Hill is located just ten minutes from the Kalimpong Paragliding Society. In fact, when I was flying in the sky, I could see the Deolo Hill clearly.

 After flying in the sky for fifteen minutes, I craved for the ground.

 

Needless to say, The Deolo Hill was extremely picturesque. I started singing and dancing as soon as I reached there. We could also see plenty of paragliders in the sky from Deolo Hill. The flowers, greenery and the cool breeze made me want to stay there forever.

 Some places are so peaceful that you feel like residing there forever

Even after coming back home, I realized that I have left a small part of my heart in Kalimpong. Somewhere amidst the orchids...somewhere within the innocent smiles of the local people there...somewhere in the sky during Paragliding...somewhere at WaterShed View Point gazing at the golf course and sipping tea...somewhere in Deolo while clicking pictures...I fell in love with this beautiful remote hill station of West Bengal.

Dear Kalimpong, I heart you!

 

Surprise your Dad with flowers

Are you thinking what to gift your Dad on this Father’s Day? Do you want to make this Father’s Day a little special for your Dad? Now, you don’t have to worry much. You can buy Flowers online for your Dad and surprise him on Father’s Day which is on the 21^st of June this year. 

Father’s Day is a special occasion to let our fathers know how wonderful they are and how blessed we are to have them in our lives. I am sure every daughter would agree with me regarding this. Flowers can serve the perfect medium to let your Dad know how special he is and how lucky you feel yourself to be his daughter. Flowers are the best way to express a personal sentiment or a feeling. They are warm and can convey a message perfectly. 

The best thing about buying flowers online is that you get to choose a wide range of flowers within a few minutes. Moreover, the facility of midnight delivery is available which means that just at the stroke of midnight, when the day changes to 21^st June, you will be able to give your Dad a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Buy fresh flowers online without thinking twice. We can assure you that the flowers you would receive will be fresh and beautiful. 

You would find an exclusive range of flowers online at an affordable price. The best thing is that there won’t be any problem of delivery as Floweraura delivers across 150 cities (2000 pin codes pan India). The facility of same day delivery is also available as per your preferred timing. Therefore, buy flowers at best price with just a few clicks.

Father’s Day is the time of honoring our fathers and to show them how much we love and care for them. Our Dads fulfill our wants and whims without any complaints right from our childhood. All he wants is to see his princess happy and smiling. A Dad is a daughter’s first hero and with a bouquet of fresh flowers, we can make a big smile appear on his face. 

Just imagine the bell ringing at the stroke of midnight of Father’s Day and your father is surprised to find that his princess has ordered fresh flowers for him. It will make him feel blessed for having a wonderful and expressive daughter like you.

Think no further. Make this Father’s Day special with flowers.

Five tips for radiant and beautiful skin

Yes, it is true that beauty is in the inner self, not in the outer skin. However, when your skin will be glowing and beautiful, you will feel great from inside. Moreover, people will get to see your skin first and know your inner self later. Therefore, you must take care of your skin on a regular basis. 

 

Nowadays, all of us have busy, hectic schedules and we are all helplessly bogged down with deadlines. This makes us forget taking care of ourselves. We hardly have the leisure to take care of our skin in the perfect way.

Here are some simple tips that will help you in getting radiant and beautiful skin without giving too much effort: 

1.     Wash your face many times in a day, especially before going to bed: You attend a friend’s birthday bash after work and then come home really tired. You don’t have any energy left within you to wash your face and you directly go to bed. The next morning, you wake up with pimples or rashes.

      This is a very common situation when we go to bed without washing our face. You must remove the makeup from your face properly before going to bed without failure. Wash your face as many times as possible for healthy skin.

2.     Practice yoga and meditation: Yoga and meditation are known for their tremendous health benefits. You would be surprised to know that these practices can give you naturally healthy and youthful skin. Toxins are removed from your body as you exhale and inhale. The process of deep breathing rejuvenates the skin and gives a beautiful glow to it.

3.     Lemon can help in removing blemishes: Lemon has wonderful anti-tanning properties. If you use lemon on the dark areas of your skin, you would find that the dark areas are getting lightened. Keep the lemon on the dark areas for about ten minutes. Then, wash your skin with cold water.

4.     Use tomato to get a beautiful, pink glow: Tomato is especially beneficial for oily skin. It absorbs the oil and gives the skin a beautiful, pink glow that’s extremely attractive. Add tomato pulp to your skin. After it gets dry, rinse it off with cold water.

5.     Use VICCO Turmeric Cream: Instead of using some fancy creams and moisturizers, use the new VICCO Turmeric Cream with Foam Base. The rich Ayurvedic formula of the cream can prevent oily skin, clear blackheads and fight pimples. The cream is capable of doing so by warding off the microbes and bacteria from your skin, with every single wash. Moreover, the cream boasts in curing rashes, allergies and skin infections.

If you follow these five simple tips, you would surely be able to get radiant and beautiful skin.

You can grab the VICCO Turmeric Cream from your nearest store now. Then, what are you waiting for?

#ComeCloser to Radiant Skin

You can get more details of the cream at: 
http://www.viccolabs.com/product-turmeric-cream-with-foam-base.php

Monsoon…Music…Dance

Well, I love monsoons. Rain makes me want to sing and dance with joy. Actually music seems to be in total sync with the pretty drizzling sound of rain…isn’t it? 

However, walking in the water logged streets is not a pretty thing. And worst is getting stuck in the traffic during rain. It was one such day. I was stuck in the traffic for more than thirty minutes. It was drizzling constantly and there was no sign of the traffic to clear any soon. 

It was really boring, sitting in the taxi. And the worst was that I have forgotten to put my earphones in my bag. I am such a music fanatic that whenever I go out somewhere, I never forget to take my earphones. Music helps me deal with the most mundane of situations. 

As I was sulking about how bad the day is, I heard some loud music. It was the introductory music of the song Dum Maro Dum...Mit Jaaye Gham. I looked out of the window of my taxi to see from where the music is coming from, but to not avail. The other people stuck in the traffic also looked clueless and curious like me. Then, I could clearly hear the song Dum Maro Dum…Mit Jaaye Gham by Anushka Manchanda.

And then, as if it is a dream, I saw a group of dancers emerging from somewhere and dancing on the song being played. I was awestruck and looked at the dancers who danced between the cars stuck in traffic. And then, Allu Arjun joined them and made the ambiance rocking with his sensational dance moves. I felt that I am a part of the Step Up movie. I remembered I saw similar things in Step Up Revolution where the hero along with his group was dancing in the middle of the road. The slight drizzles made the setting all the more interesting.

 A still from Step Up Revolution (Image Source)

The song got over and as the new song Ek Mein Aur Ekk Tu started, I screamed in joy to see the singer, Anushka Manchanda joining the dancers and Allu Arjun with a smile.

It was fantastic and a dream-come-true moment to see one of my favorite singers, Anushka Manchanda performing live in front of me. She swayed her body with panache as she sang some of her songs such as Man Basiyo Saanwariyo and Dance Basanti.

As I am so fond of singing and dancing, I couldn’t resist anymore. I got out of the taxi and joined Anushka Manchanda and Allu Arjun. Many people stuck in the traffic joined them. It was such a delightful and rocking moment. 

Seriously, any situation, no matter how mundane it is can get charged with energy when there is some music and dancing around. I was swaying with Anushka in the most jubilant and carefree manner as she sang Dance Basanti when suddenly my phone started ringing. 

Ugh! I hated the shrill ringtone of my phone that moment.

My phone kept on ringing and I became irritated. I couldn’t find my phone and it kept on ringing. Anushka’s music did not make way to my ears now as the noise of the ringtone overtook it. And then, with a jolt, my dream broke. It was my Dad calling, asking me where I was. 

I was still stuck in the traffic and I realized that I had dozed off in the taxi. There was no such Step Up moment taking place in the road of Kolkata. 

Damn! The dream was so good. Wish it was true!

 I am blogging for #MaxFreshMove activity at BlogAdda.com. Are you?